Wu Lei faces the darkest moment of his career in Yangyang.
Last season in La Liga, Wu Lei failed to get a start in several consecutive rounds after being plagued by injuries, when the media discussed whether he was suitable to stay in Espanyol.
Now it seems that the situation is not the worst, only worse. In espanyol's 2-2 draw with Cadiz, Wu Lei still failed to get a chance to play, and has failed to play in 6 consecutive rounds of La Liga.
(This season, we've only seen Espanyol officials push this gif once)
Obviously, Wu Lei is not only a problem, but also a big problem, the 2021/22 season is halfway through, he has almost no decent chances, even the Copa del Rey can only come off the bench to get a pitiful amount of performance time.
Besides, luck doesn't seem to be on Wu Lei's side either.
Espanyol lost 1-2 to Mallorca in the Copa del Rey, and Wu Lei came on in stoppage time, but missed a chance to draw in the seconds, causing a sigh.
Let's pull the timeline forward, in the Copa del Rey game half a month ago to eliminate Ponferradina, Wu Lei put on the 86th minute, only to be awarded a penalty 1 minute later by espanyol. Although this point delivery has nothing to do with Wu Lei, the "unscrupulous media" still made the topic of "Wu Lei just appeared in espanyol was awarded a penalty".
Man, when the luck is not good, drinking cold water is stuffed between the teeth, this season Wu Lei always seems to play the role of the back pot man in the limited playing time.
In the 12th round of La Liga, Espanyol played against Getafe, and Wu Lei came on as a substitute in the 89th minute, missing the opportunity to save the team in the last minute.
In the 15th round of La Liga, Espanyol played against Real Sociedad, Wu Lei came on as a substitute in the 78th minute, and De Thomas sent a wonderful assist, resulting in Wu Lei's one-handed opportunity to lie down too large, resulting in the ball being confiscated by the goalkeeper.
De Thomas expressed helplessness, which seemed to reflect Wu Lei's state and situation in Espanyol, so since the match against the Royal Society, "China Nuclear Weapons" has not been given a minute to play in La Liga.
In the words of the Spaniard and the team reporter, Wu Lei has now completely lost the trust of coach Moreno, and the Spaniard coach would rather use the young player who has just recovered from injury than give Wu Lei a chance to prove himself.
The substitute is not terrible, the terrible thing is that there is no chance, from the current situation, Wu Lei has no hope of proving himself in La Liga and finding the trust of the team.
(Wu Lei has only scored one goal in the Copa del Rey this season)
As a result, the clichéd topic was mentioned again: Liu Yang encountered difficulties, should Wu Lei leave the Spaniards?
The last time this topic was widely discussed was in the middle of last season, when Wu Lei also struggled in La Liga.
However, there were some tactical reasons for the struggle at that time - in La Liga, espanyol is a mid-range and downstream team, most of the time to implement anti-counter tactics, Wu Lei's speed and breakthrough ability can be played; in West B, the Parrot Army is an absolute giant, the field is dominant, the field is dominant, and Wu Lei, who is not excellent in foot technology, is naturally not the optimal solution.
(In the 2019/20 season, the Spaniards were chaotic, and Wu Lei's good momentum also came to an abrupt end)
With the promotion of spaniards back to La Liga, people are looking forward to Wu Lei to find the state at the beginning of joining, but the reality is always cruel, and the "Chinese nuclear weapons" have not shined again, but have fallen deeper and deeper in the quagmire.
Looking at Wu Lei's history of staying in the West, there is a clear trend of high opening and low going, and in the first half of the season, he opened the goal account without a few games, refreshed a series of Chinese players' foreign records, and also broke into the European war with espanyol.
However, since the beginning of the 2019/20 season, Wu Lei's state has been chaotic and ups and downs with the team, although there are highlight moments when the Catalan derby breaks the Barca goal, but most of the time, it is lost.
Now, with the passage of time, Wu Lei has passed the age of establishment, and he is no longer so compatible with the Spaniards, no matter how many obsessions he has to compete in the five major leagues, it is time to re-examine himself.
We know that as the "hope of the whole village" in Chinese football, Wu Lei's purpose is to set an example and improve his level in high-level leagues.
Therefore, even if the opportunities are limited, Wu Lei can become a light in Chinese football, as long as he gets playing time, the football level of La Liga can sharpen him into a first-class player in Asia.
But the question now is no longer the amount of playing time, but Wu Lei has no chance to play at all, so his entire purpose of choosing to stay in Yang cannot be achieved in Espanyol.
Frankly speaking, at Wu Lei's age, it is difficult to complete a qualitative leap again, and maintaining the status through high-level competition is the top priority. Therefore, no matter how much public pressure he faces, he needs to figure out what he needs, rather than being bound by the obsession of "competing in the five major leagues".
Chinese football should not only stare at a "hope of the whole village", look at neighboring Japan, and the foreign legion has long blossomed everywhere. Our top priority is to follow the development law of "quantitative change produces qualitative change" and cultivate the rising "back wave".
From a realistic point of view, it is difficult for Wu Lei to have a future in Espanyol, and if he still wants to stay in the Ocean, going to the European League in the second tier or the second tier will be a good choice. There is only the right one, not the best, and if you can put aside the shackles and find yourself, even if it is not in the five major leagues, so what?